Angus Fraser v Andrew Caddick v Darren Gough v Dominic Cork

Caddick in the mood was the best of the lot, and world class: pace, lift, movement. But he was inconsistent and when his outswinger wasn't working he could be cannon fodder.

Gough was a real attack-leader, inspirational and skillful. He had good pace and many variations: an outswinger with the new ball, reverse swing with the old, and was always trying different things to get wickets. A few more mph and/or a few more inches of height and he could have been a top quality bowler.

Fraser by contrast was one-dimensional but very reliable. I thought that after his hip injury in 1990/91 (quite early in his career) he was never quiite as nippy as he had been up till then. A real handful when there was any uneven bounce. The most constent of the 4 IMO.

Cork was occasionally lethal in English conditions and a competitor of the highest order but probably the least good bowler of these 4.

Best career- Gough
Best leader of an attack- Gough
Most dangerous on his day- Caddick
Most reliable- Fraser
Most likely to make something from nothing- Fraser
Most outclassed by the others in this thread- Cork

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I'll say Gough but you have to remember that Fraser had a career threatening injury and that when he came back he was a shadow of the bowler he was before.If he had remained injury free he may well be talked about as a great English bowler he was that good pre injury.

I know Gough was injury prone but i don't think it ruined his career as much as Gus as Gus lost at least a yard in pace when he came back.

Cork was just an English swing bowler who needed conditions in his favour,not a threat at all when they weren't.

Caddick had the ability but if he didn't get an early wicket his head went down too quickly.If he got one he was lethal.Arguably the most dangerous of the 4 but also the most erratic in terms of form.I see a lot of Caddick in Broad,capable of deadly matchwinning spells but too often not looking threatening.I guess players like that are useful as the opposition are always wary of the magic spell you know he is around the corner.

Without giving it much thought, my instinct says Gough. For some reason the thought of having a Darren Gough in a test team is just so, so much more appealing than the thought of having any of the others.